Amster-done? Visit a castle

by Sean McLachlan on

In my last Amster-done? post I talked about taking a day trip to the beautiful city of Delft. Today I’m featuring two medieval castles far from the noise and pungent smells of Amsterdam, but still less than an hour away by public transport.

Muider Castle, known to the locals as Muiderslot, is a twenty minute bus ride from Amsterdam’s Amstel station. Get off at the stop for Muiden and take a short walk through a park, then the village of Muiden, and along a harbor where you’ll see the castle in the distance.

It’s a pretty sight. This castle was founded around the year 1285 to protect Muiden harbor. It was expanded over the years and now appears much as it did when major building was completed in 1450. There’s a peaceful garden off to one side, and an open area where falconry demonstrations are held. If you’ve never seen a falcon doing its stuff, this alone is enough to make you glad you came. These regal birds are amazingly quick and well-trained, and can pluck a bit of meat out of their trainer’s hand while swooping past at blinding speed.

The interior of the castle is made up like it was in the olden days, with chambers for the lord and lady, an armoury for the soldiers, a creepy dungeon for people who use their cell phones in restaurants, and even some primitive privies. The privies are noticeably lacking in the dungeon. Serves them right.

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The Castle de Haar (Kasteel de Haar in Dutch) is another fine relic of the bad old days. If you don’t have a car, the easiest way to get there is to take a train or bus to Utrecht Centraal Station and then take bus 127 in the direction of Breukelen/Kockengen to the “Brink” stop at Haarzuilens. It’s only a 15 minute walk at that point.

This is one of the most attractive castles I’ve seen in Europe. It was built sometime before 1391 and expanded in the following century before falling into disrepair. A massive restoration project of the castle and nearby town brought it back to its former glory. Around the castle is a large baroque garden filled with flowers and dotted with ponds, perfect for snuggling with that special travel companion.

Both of these castles make for a fun, easy day trip from Amsterdam, and their close enough that you can be back in time for the nightlife.

Do you have a favorite day trip from Amsterdam? Post a comment!

List of World Heritage Sites grows by 13

by Kraig Becker on

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee just wrapped up its 33rd annual conference in Seville, Spain, where they added 13 new sites to their list of amazing locations around the globe, and made the unusual move of dropping one. The new list of World Heritage Sites now stands at 890.

Of the 13 new sites, 11 are cultural sites and 2 are natural. The two new natural sites are the Wadden Sea on the border between Germany and the Netherlands and the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The cultural sites include such places as the Tower of Hercules in Spain, The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru, and Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan. For a complete list of the new sites, check out the official press release here.

The former World Heritage Site that was dropped from the list was the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany. The committee expressed concern over the fact that a new four-lane bridge was being built through the Valley, and even attempted to give warning of this action, placing the site on the Danger List back in 2006. When construction proceeding anyway, they felt they had no other choice, but to drop the Valley from their list.

Three other sites have also been put on notice that they could also be dropped in the future. The Belize Reef Reserve System in Belize was put on notice mainly due to the harvesting of mangrove trees and excessive development in the area. The Los Katios National Park in Columbia was added at the request of the Columbian government to help mobilize international efforts to protect the region and The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia were listed as “in danger” over concerns with the preservation of the edifices located there.

Despite reports earlier this week, the Everglades National Park has not yet been placed back on the danger list. The committee intends to study the situation and make a more informed ruling in the future.

The new additions to the list are excelent, and it gives us an amazing life list just pursuing these World Heritiage Site. Forget the “1000 Places To See Before You Die” and just focus on these 890.

On the trail of the Kalahari bushmen

by Kraig Becker on

A few days back we posted about 18 unique travel experiences that even the seasoned traveler would find interesting. One of the suggestions on that list was to travel to the Kalahari Desert to stay with bushmen and partake in an initiation hunt with the tribes that still wander the remote regions of southern Africa.

Recently, travel writer Sally Emerson journeyed to Botswana to go in search of the bushmen herself. She wrote about her adventures for the Times Online, as she explored the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari, following in the footsteps of author Laurens Van der Post, who published The Lost World of the Kalahari back in 1956. The book has become one of the seminal works on the bushmen and their culture.

Both Emerson, and Van der Post before her, were searching for the San Bushmen, one of five distinct tribes that are spread out across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, and Botswana. Today, it is believed that less than 100,000 of the bushmen remain, but those that do, maintain close ties to their culture, and the land on which they live.

Emerson says that the bushmen that she met were able to teach her about the plants and animals of the Kalahari while showing her how to set traps and hunt as well. They displayed a deep understanding of what their surroundings could provide for them, allowing them to survive for extended periods of time in the desert. Many of the tribesmen are now guides, and are eager to share their history and culture with visitors from the rest of the world. Traveling to the Kalahari to spend some time with these guides would indeed makre for a unique and amazing travel experience.

Archeological adventures in East Africa

by Kraig Becker on

Ethiopian Airlines has teamed up with the Tanzanian Tourist Board to offer a unique travel experience to East Africa, in which travelers will go on an archeological adventure that will send them in search of the Lost Ark and to the depths of the Olduvai Gorge, believed to be the “Cradle of Mankind”.

The eleven-day journey begins in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, and quickly moves to the ancient city of Axum, rumored to be the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Legend has it that the holy relic was brought there by the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon thousands of years ago, and that it remains in an isolated chapel to this day. While in Ethiopia, travelers will also visit Lalibela, the site of 12 churches craved out of the very rock itself.

After exploring the mysteries of Ethiopia, the adventure will continue in Tanzania, with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater and the Olduvai Gorge, home to the first humans and the very spot where the first humanoid skull was found 50 years ago. The journey will finish up with a Serengeti safari before travelers return home.

To find out more about this amazing trip, visit www.seeyouinethiopia.com/archeology. This special tour, which includes all transporation and accomodations, is offered for a limited time only.

Two tours, two Jerusalems

by Sean McLachlan on

BBC’s Tim Franks has written a fascinating article about taking two very different tours to the same place. His guides showed him the same sights and talked about the same things, but their interpretations were entirely different. It was like they weren’t talking about the same place at all.

That place, of course, is Jerusalem.

Franks went to the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. He took tours with Al-Quds University, the only Arab university in Jerusalem, and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, run by the Israeli government.

Both took him along the Western Wall, built by King Herod about 2,000 years ago, and through a tunnel dug alongside it. The Jewish tour guide pointed out a mikveh, a room for Jewish ritual cleansing. The Palestinian guide said there was no evidence it was used as such. The Jewish guide said the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall for the anguished prayers of many of the faithful) is one of the walls of the ancient Jewish Temple. The Palestinian guide said there is no evidence for this. The Jewish guide compared this statement to Holocaust denial.

And so it goes, round and round.

Back in my archaeology days I did a field season in Israel and can attest to how quickly history gets turned into a political football. Start talking about archaeology, and sooner or later you’ll start talking religion and politics. Usually sooner. With so many religious sites piled literally on top of one another, there’s bound to be arguments. If you look at the picture of the Western Wall above, you can see the dome for Al-Aksa Mosque right above it, and the Dome of the Rock is just off the picture to the left. Both religions consider this same spot to be sacred.

While we read about this all the time in the news, it’s much more interesting to witness firsthand. So if you are headed to the Holy Land and want to see just how contentious history can be, why not try out both of these tours? Or if this whole thing is just making your head hurt, you can always go to the local Hooters.